The Point: And Other Stories [Paperback]

Charles D'Ambrosio (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316171255
• ISBN-13: 978-0316171250
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,057,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this review was a long time coming..., May 3, 2000

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I Hate Amazon "contributor" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Point: And Other Stories (Paperback)

...and actually, it's been quite some time since I've read this, but I've been waiting and waiting for someone to come along and write something--anything--about this collection, which deserves more recognition than it seems to be getting, and certainly deserves a better review than I can give it.

All the stories here have a strong voice in the narration and, if memory serves, each has an undercurrent of sadness that is far more palpable than the general domestic trivia you generally find in the products of graduate programs.

The title story is the most notable in the collection and has been anthologized in such publications as Best American Short Stories and Janet Burroway's book on Writing Fiction. It follows an occasion where an adolescent escorts a drunk and emotionally unstable woman safely back to her home, and during the course of the walk various skeletons emerge from their respective closets. D'ambrosio takes a risk with the final image, which some might find rather heavy handed, but I feel it works beautifully and strongly closes the story.

Perhaps my favorite story in the book is "Her Real Name," which follows the relationship between a traveling man named Jones and the strange young woman he picks up, nameless and seriously ill, who finds solace in her faith in God and the company of her driving companion.

Anyhoo, there are seven stories here, and all are worthy reads, so you might want to check this book out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best, July 27, 2007

By 

Cathy A. Wethington (Owensboro, Ky) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Point: And Other Stories (Paperback)

it has also been a long time since i've read these (although i've read some of them many times) but this collection made D'Ambrosio my favorite writer. The Point and Her Real Name are particularly wonderful. I read The Point aloud to a group of college students. In preparation to doing this, I read it aloud to myself at least 20 times. It never failed to make me laugh and make me cry. Her Real Name is particularly haunting. Even after not having read it in a long time, I still recall images from it as if i was there. It's a shame D'Ambrosio doesn't produce more, but maybe that's what it takes to write something this good. I'm waiting, somewhat impatiently for that novel mentioned in the Tin House interview.

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Immersing!, September 3, 2011

By 

Harry Hopkins III "Steve Tempo" (Downingtown, Pa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Point: And Other Stories (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this collection of short stories. Charles D'Ambrosio has a way of immersing the reader into his stories with the most evocative of narratives while using the most simplest of words. His stories are of a genre called "Slice of Life Realism." I can feel these stories and the characters within them and they stay with me. My favorites in this collection are "Her Real Name" and "Open House." If you are looking for a short story collection, I recommend you give this one a try.